The number of Minnesotans over the age of 55 is expected to grow from 1.6 million people in 2021 to 1.9 million by 2043. The Duluth, MN-WI metropolitan statistical area (MSA) will feel this demographic shift more acutely than the state of Minnesota will—currently 35% of the population is over the age 55 years in the MSA compared to 29% statewide.
Research has shown that organizational practices are closely related to older employees’ health, motivation, performance, and retirement preferences. And these practices are not just relevant to the older workforce but also to middle-aged workers, as they decide whether their current employer will fit their future needs.
In April, the BBER—in partnership with Dr. Lacey Loomer, Dr. Kim Dauner, and Dr. Lin Xiu—was awarded funding from a UMD grant aimed at fostering new, cross-disciplinary research collaborations. Our team will survey businesses—both the management and the employees—in the Duluth-Superior MSA to understand whether local employers are meeting the workplace needs of this important demographic group.
Given the changing demographics of the MSA and the lack of information available to businesses on best practices for accommodating older workers, there is a critical need for local businesses to evaluate themselves on their ability to attract and retain an older workforce. Failure to meet the needs of an aging workforce will result in businesses losing workers at an increasing rate and being unable to fill open positions.
Several tools exist to assess age-friendly workplace practices, but few offer the ability to compare employers’ responses regarding the workplace practices they provide for their aging employees with responses of the employees as to what they use or would like to have.
The BBER and its partners will be using a relatively new tool, the Later Life Workplace Index (LLWI). We will be one of the first research groups in the United States to use the LLWI. This instrument has been developed by psychologists in Germany and validated in an English-speaking population. It has been piloted for employees, management, and human resource professionals in organizations that range in size from 30 to 500 employees. Using this tool as a guide, we will be developing a survey to send to management and employees of several Duluth-Superior MSA businesses. This survey will collect both LLWI data and demographic information for businesses and their employees, which will then be analyzed to answer several questions, including:
- How do employees in the Duluth-Superior MSA feel their employers are doing regarding the promotion of age-friendly business practices?
- Are there any significant differences between types of businesses (e.g., large or small employers, different industries, etc.) and how their employees view their age-friendly practices?
- Are there any significant differences between how businesses and their employees view the effectiveness of age-friendly practices?
The data that we collect will be used to provide a benchmark across all surveyed businesses, as well as an individual, business-level comparison between employer and employee responses that will be provided to participants. This will provide valuable insight to Duluth businesses on what the best practices are for achieving an age-friendly business climate. Long-term, the BBER research team is interested in developing a training program for businesses in northeast Minnesota and beyond that would serve to educate managers on developing and maintaining age-friendly businesses.
For those interested in the results of this project, keep an eye on the BBER website for updates. And, if there are any businesses in the Duluth-Superior MSA that would like to learn more or participate, please reach out to [email protected].